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Old Archives 2002-2004

On these pages, I have written about the plight of Dirk and Petra Wunderlich, whose children, aged 7 to 14, were taken forcibly from their home in Darmstadt early one morning in late August by a battalion of twenty police, special agents, and social workers as the children began their morning home school classes. The children were taken into custody because their parents insisted on the children being homeschooled. Last week, I wrote that a court hearing was going to be held last Thursday in their case, and I asked for prayer on the family’s behalf. Following that court hearing, the Wunderlich children were returned to their parents after the parents promised that they would send their children back to a government school.

Home School Legal Defense Association Chairman Michael Farris said in response to the German court ruling:

It’s a small victory, but it’s still a victory. When the parents told the authorities that they would send their kids back to school during the raid, they were told it was too late. What we’ve seen today is a reversal in the German courts caused by the mounting international pressure from human rights advocates. This is a promising start to what will hopefully be a reversal on Germany’s stance on homeschooling altogether.

After the story about the Wunderlich family story became public knowledge, thousands of Americans took to the phones and internet to contact the German Embassy, and condemned the actions of German government officials embarrassing them. Mr. Farris also condemned the silence of the Obama “Administration” regarding Germany’s clear violation of international human rights. Mr. Farris observed:

The State Department says it seeks to promote a greater respect for human rights on its website. It lists specific examples including freedom of expression and the protection of minorities, but what it doesn’t mention is religious freedom. It is clear that the administration doesn’t mind that religious homeschoolers in Germany are having their rights trampled upon by the way the Justice Department is going after the Romeike family.

To those who contacted the German Embassy in Washington, D.C., and for those of you who prayed for the Wunderlich family, thank you very much. However, I still think that the Wunderlich family might be prudent to emigrate to the United States. And now we can continue to pray and press the Obama “Administration” to provide justice to the Romeike family now awaiting deportation from the United States back to Germany for the “crime” of homeschooling.